Describe Meaning
Describe Definition & Usage
To represent or give an account of something or someone in words, by portraying details or characteristics.
Examples
- "Can you describe the scene in more detail?"
- "The witness was asked to describe the suspect to the police."
- "He described the landscape as being vast and desolate."
- "She could not describe the feeling of losing her childhood home."
- "I can't fully describe how I felt when I first saw the mountains."
To represent or delineate something in a systematic, often technical, way.
Examples
- "The diagram describes the movement of the planets around the sun."
- "The manual describes how to install the software correctly."
- "This report describes the process of gene editing in simple terms."
- "The book describes how to analyze statistical data."
- "The lecture will describe various algorithms used in computer science."
To convey a visual or emotional representation through creative means, such as art, writing, or speech.
Examples
- "The poet describes the beauty of the sunset in vivid detail."
- "Her painting describes the quiet solitude of the forest."
- "The novel describes the internal struggle of the protagonist."
- "The artist describes the human condition through abstract forms."
- "In his song, he describes the pain of unrequited love."
Cultural Context
The verb 'describe' has roots in the Latin word 'describere,' which combines 'de-' (meaning 'down') and 'scribere' (meaning 'to write'). It originally meant to write down, and has evolved in modern English to cover a range of meanings related to verbal or written representation of ideas, objects, or feelings.
The Artist's Vision
Story
The Artist's Vision
On a crisp autumn morning, Emma stood before a blank canvas, her paintbrush hovering in midair. She had often tried to describe her feelings about the world through art, but today felt different. It wasn’t just about the colors or shapes—it was about capturing a feeling she had never quite been able to put into words. As she began to paint, her thoughts wandered to her childhood, the quiet walks she used to take with her father in the forest, the way the sun filtered through the leaves. She could almost hear his voice again, urging her to 'describe' what she saw. He always said that description was an art in itself, not just a mere listing of things but an attempt to capture the essence of what was before you. Later that afternoon, Emma found herself at a local art gallery. She’d been invited to view a new exhibit, and the paintings before her reminded her of the very advice her father had given. One painting, in particular, caught her eye. The artist had described a simple scene of a sunset, yet it was far from simple—it seemed to capture the very atmosphere of the moment, the stillness of twilight. It wasn't just about the colors; it was about the emotion evoked in the viewer. As she stood there, lost in the painting, she reflected on how much of life could be described in more than just technical terms. To describe something wasn't only to catalog it—it was to give it meaning. She thought of her father’s words: 'To describe is to connect the heart with the mind.' She smiled, realizing that her journey as an artist was, in essence, an ongoing attempt to describe the world—not just with strokes of color, but with the words she had yet to write on the canvas of life.
Related Words
